- Rep. Liz Cheney is facing a tough reelection bid after criticizing former President Donald Trump.
- Trump has endorsed Harriet Hageman, a primary challenger of Cheney.
- Trump went to rally on Saturday for Hageman in Casper, Wyoming where his supporters derided Cheney.
CASPER, Wyoming — Dee Lubeck traveled roughly 275 miles across the state to see former President Donald Trump take the stage on Saturday for a rally in support of Harriet Hageman, the primary challenger of Rep. Liz Cheney.
The 71-year-old voter, a lifelong Republican who resides in the small town of Pinedale, said he has no intention of backing Cheney, Wyoming's lone member of Congress. His vote is for Hageman, "even if I gotta crawl to do it," Lubeck said, pointing to his walking cane beside him.
"I don't want to spit in front of you, but that's what I do when I hear the name Liz," he said with a laugh.
Republicans in the state will have to make a choice in the August primary: Vote to keep the incumbent, a vocal Trump critic who hails from a political dynasty. Or replace Cheney with Hageman, an attorney loyal to the former president who still wields considerable power in Republican politics.
Cheney's decision to criticize Trump for his role in the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack — and vote with Democrats to impeach him on a charge of "incitement of insurrection" — has provoked the ire of MAGA loyalists and put her at political risk in a state that overwhelmingly voted for him in 2020.
At the rally on Saturday, the mention of Cheney's name provoked scoffing, head-shaking, and widespread disapproval among dedicated Trump supporters who flocked to the former president's event from all over the red state. Attendees, donned in "Trump 2024" caps and T-shirts, waited for hours in a line that snaked through the parking lot of the Ford Wyoming Center, excited for Trump's first-ever appearance in the state.
Cheney, a conservative Republican who's served in the US House of Representatives since 2017, stood by Trump throughout his four-year term. But she broke from Trump after his repeated rejection of the 2020 election results and for his role in the Capitol siege. Over the past year, Cheney has emerged as an outspoken and prominent Trump critic, characterizing herself as a defender of the Constitution.
Consequently, Trump has taken sharp aim at Cheney, repeatedly disparaging her and launching a revenge plot to unseat her. His Saturday appearance in Wyoming served to implore voters to choose Hageman over Cheney in the upcoming Republican primary on August 16.
"This is MAGA country," Trump told supporters. "Over the next six months, the people of Wyoming are going to vote to dump your RINO Liz Cheney and you're going to send the incredible Harriet Hageman to Congress."
RINO is short for Republican in Name Only, a nickname for GOP members not considered conservative enough or not loyal to Trump.
At the rally, Trump's supporters, some of whom have previously voted for Cheney, poured scorn on her and echoed his disdain for the incumbent member of Congress.
"My opinion of her is treasonistic [sic]. I don't feel she did her sworn duty in representing her constituents," James West, a 40-year-old from Lander, said of Cheney.
"Disgrace to the Republican Party," said Chris Sorge, 30. "Two-faced," added Dallas Peasley, 31. "She might as well put a D in front of her name," Obe Corbian, 48, said. Cheney's a "RINO," said Chelsea Roan, 36.
Despite the nation- and state-wide backlash Cheney has endured since she broke with Trump — and joined the committee investigating the January 6 Capitol siege — she has stood firm against the attacks, and officially launched her reelection bid on Thursday, puzzling voters at the rally.
"She should go back to wherever she's from and never come back," Delia, 60, said. Her husband, Lester, wore a cap with the words "Piss on Cheney" inscribed on it. The couple asked Insider not to disclose their last name.
'She's changed'
Though many attendees swore they would never tick Cheney's name on a ballot box again, some were still uncertain about how they'd vote in a few months, leaving open the possibility of supporting the incumbent congresswoman.
Kay West, a 75-year-old from Casper, said the decision is tough because while she cast her vote for Cheney before, Trump's endorsement for Hageman has "enticed" her to learn more about Cheney's challenger, an attorney who grew up on a ranch outside of Fort Laramie, Wyoming.
"Liz Cheney has done some good," West said, adding that she's undecided at the moment.
Cheney has "stood up for what she believes in. That's Wyoming through and through," another undecided voter, who asked Insider not to name them, said. "I want to see what Harriet has to say."
But according to Janet Shaver, Cheney is no longer the same person who she voted for in the past, telling Insider: "We're all in for Harriet."
"She's changed," Shaver, a 75-year-old from Thermopolis, said of Cheney. "She's very against Trump. She did wrong."
Bob Langdon, too, said he's committed to voting for Hageman, citing Trump's support for her.
"Trump don't make mistakes. He's the man," Langdon, 74, said. "Anybody he says you should vote for, you should vote for."
"She's not for the people," Langdon said of Cheney. "Go get a job flipping burgers somewhere."
The closely watched race is widely considered to represent a test of Trump's power over the Republican Party. Earlier this week, his high-profile endorsements for Republican candidates against incumbent officials in Georgia flopped. Yet Trump-backed candidates in Ohio and Pennsylvania did win their primary elections in recent weeks.